What Is the Prognosis?

Life expectancy for people with Down syndrome has increased substantially. In 1929, the average life span of a person with this condition was nine years. Today, it is common for a person with Down syndrome to live to age 50 and beyond.

Other Names for Down Syndrome

History of Down Syndrome

The condition is named after John Langdon Down, the first physician to identify the condition in 1862.

In 1959, a group of geneticists lead by Jérôme Lejeune found that Down syndrome is a chromosomal irregularity. Lejeune and his colleagues found that people with Down syndrome had an additional 47th chromosome. The chromosomal irregularity was identified as trisomy 21.

Down syndrome is the accepted term in the United States, Canada, and other countries. The United Kingdom and other countries use Down's syndrome.

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